Blood and Tears
by alittlebitofeverything107
Summary: They went into the war expecting to be covered in glory and triumph over their hated enemies. And, for a time, that's what they got. But as the war dragged on, they realized that their illusion had been shattered by reality. The ones that survived came to what remained of their lives covered in nothing but blood and tears.
1. Chapter 1: The Road to War

As a warning from the author, this story starts off slow. I promise that it will get better, so please stick with it. Drop a review if you feel like it, it'll be well appreciated.

-the author

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Road to War**

 _"_ _Dad."_

 _"_ _Yes, son?"_

 _"_ _I signed up."_

 _"_ _For what?"_

 _"_ _For the Wehrmacht. I'm going to fight in a panzer division."_

 _Silence._

 _"_ _Dad, please…"_

 _"_ _Why, son?"_

 _"_ _Everyone else is sighing up. Benjamin, Ken, everyone from school! All my friends. I want to fight alongside them."_

 _"_ _But they aren't you, Albert!"_

 _"_ _Dad, if anything, shouldn't you be proud of me?"_

 _"_ _I'm not proud of fools."_

 _"_ _Dad. I know what I'm doing. This will help us."_

 _"_ _You'll die."_

 _"_ _For the Fatherland! For the justice of our people! For you, for mom, for Sophia, for Mia, for Heinz! It's something I would be proud to die for!"_

 _"_ _You'll die. And I'll never see you again."_

* * *

A few months later:

Albert opened his eyes. His father's coarse voice still lingered for a few moments, hanging there, with no mass or substance, but still there.

Albert didn't move at all, except for his ebony eyes. He just felt his warm bed and his soft pillow. He held the battered, stuffed brown bear he received for his 4th birthday under his arm. He never slept without it since that day. It was the only present his father ever gave him.

For a few more minutes, Albert lay there, under his warm gray blanket. It was extremely early, and the sky outside was blanketed by cold gray clouds, but feeble rays of pale sunlight found their way into Albert's room through the window over his bed to Albert's left.

Albert sat up, swinging his legs over onto the scratchy carpet, which always tickled his toes. When they first bought the house, Albert's father had gone all through the second floor (the only floor with a carpet) and found nails pointed upwards. Fearing that one of his children might hurt themselves, he took a hammer and proceeded to commence a genocide against nails.

Albert chuckled a little to himself. He took a look around the room, taking everything in. His packed bag sat next to the doorway, holding a few necessities and a family photograph. Next to his bed, was a little desk, which held a small reading lamp and an ornate alarm clock, painted with gold color. A little oaken bookshelf was huddled into a corner next to a small, damp closet. The bookshelf held books from ages gone by, and the closet was full of faded clothes. A chest was at the foot of Albert's bed. Everything Albert loved and treasured was held in that little wooden chest with a metal lock.

Finally, Albert decided that the time had come. He stood up, and stretched a little. He gently opened the door of his room, which led to a narrow hallway. Albert tiptoed past his two sisters' rooms and his brother's room. He stopped at each to listen to their faint innocent breaths.

He passed his parents' room, taking extra care that he wouldn't be detected, and entered the bathroom, which had no door. Ironically, the one room in the house that needs a door doesn't have one.

He turned the faucet on, just enough so that he could wash his face. He rinsed his mouth with some water, but he still felt that his mouth smelled. He decided he would get a mint later. He turned off the faucet and combed his hair with a plastic comb. He stalked his way back to his own room and shut the door behind him.

Albert made his bed extra neatly, taking care to straighten out the cover of the mattress, fluff the pillows a little, and to intricately right the blanket. He put his stuffed bear on top of his pillow.

Albert then took the key to his chest out of its hiding spot, a small hole in the floor concealed by his little desk. He unlocked his chest, and took out his pride and joy: his Wehrmacht uniform. It was bold, unwrinkled, and spotless. The black jacket and trousers glowed to Albert's eyes. He put on a clean white undershirt of his own, and buttoned up the gray button-down shirt. Next, he carefully pulled the trousers on, careful not to wrinkle them. Albert wasn't too tall, average height, but he didn't need to tuck the shirt in. He did anyway. It wasn't often that he got such nice clothes to wear at all. He put his arms through the sleeves the black jacket, and drew it around him, fastening the buttons. He secured the belt around his waist and placed his cap over his charcoal hair.

He took a breath. He looked down at his trunk. There was only one other thing inside. Albert looked at it. Then he shut the trunk and locked it. He put the key in his breast pocket. Picking up his bag, Albert took one last, good look at his room, his sanctuary where he matured. All his life, any time something went wrong, the thin, anemic walls of this small space tenaciously kept the pains and struggles of the world out. He knew he wouldn't have that for the next years to come.

Albert shut the door to his room.

By now, his mother had already made her ways downstairs and was cooking breakfast. His brother and sisters would usually still be a sleep, but today was special, and they were already awake.

Albert made his way downstairs. The stairs still groaned and called out. Albert smiled. He thought of all the times that he had tried to sneak out with friends at night, but these stairs had ratted him out. Today, however, they seemed to be talking to him, wishing him good luck on his journey, but also telling him to piss off and don't walk on them again.

When he reached the bottom, Albert set his bag down by his combat boots by the doorway, and made his way to the kitchen. He peeked in, seeing Sophia and Mia, his seven and four year old sisters sitting on the tiled floor, playing with some archaic marbles from God knows when. Heinz, Albert's eleven year old brother, sat on the table moving his toy Panzer II back and forth while making explosions with his mouth.

Albert stepped in, smiling.

"Al!"

Mia spotted him first, smiling sweetly as she ran over to hug his leg.

"Come play with me and Sophie! I'm winning again!"

"She is not!" Sophia protested.

Albert picked Mia up and held her in front of him. He set her back down next to Sophie and pinched Mia's nose.

Mia laughed. Albert took a good look at his two sisters. Mia had pale skin, but the most innocent, sweet, smile Albert had ever seen. Her dimples and baby fat only gave her extra points. Her chestnut hair was bobbed short, and her smiles always reached her soft brown eyes.

Sophia was different. She didn't have dimples, and she was very thin. Her skin was less pale and more tannish, and her eyes were sapphires. Her hair was long and straw colored. It was difficult to believe that they were related, but Albert's grandfather had blond hair and blue eyes.

Albert let the two get back to their game. He strode over to the small coal burning stove and hugged his mother, a woman in her late forties but still strong, despite streaks of gray already appearing in her brown hair.

"Need help, mom?"

"No, Al," Mrs. Schmidt replied softly.

"In that case, I'm gonna go talk to Heinz, a'ight?"

"Yes, yes…"

Albert left his mother's side, and sat down next to his brother on their shared bench. There were two benches, one for the girls, one for the boys, and two chairs, one for each parent, around the rickety old table.

"So, Heinz, how are you this morning?"

"Great, Al."

"Is something wrong, bud?"

"No, Al."

"Heinz," Albert said, "what is it?"

"You're so lucky."

"Hmm?"

"You're so lucky!" Heinz pouted. "You get to join the army! I have to wait for at least seven more years!"

"Well, seven years isn't that long a time," Albert said reassuringly. "And besides, if you join the Army, who'll stay here to take care of the family?"

"But I want to join, Al! I wanna be just like you."

"Don't worry. You'll be able to. The war won't be over when you join. Just be patient!" Albert ran his hand through his brother's black hair. All the men in the Schmidt household had black hair and eyes.

"Okay."

Their mother then brought breakfast, which was plain oatmeal, an apple, and some rarely seen chocolate.

"Alright, Mia, Sophie, go wash your hands and eat!"

When the two girls returned, the family dug into their food.

"Hey, Al, what kind of tank are you gonna drive?" Heinz asked.

"I dunno," Albert said. "Hopefully one of the Mark III's. The Mark IV's only get to play support."

"I'd prefer you be in a Mark IV, Al." Mrs. Schmidt said. "Please, be careful out there."

"I will mom."

"When will Al be back?" Mia asked, taking a big bite of oatmeal at the same time.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Mia!" Sophie scolded.

"You're not my boss!"

Albert smiled as his mother attempted to settle the dispute. He remembered when he and Heinz used to bicker, despite there being ten years between them.

"Mom."

"Yes, Al?" Mrs. Schmidt replied.

"Where's dad?"

"He's still asleep. He was up late last night."

Albert sighed internally. He had expected this, even though he had hoped it wouldn't happen.

"Albert, I'm sor-"

"It's alright, mom. It really is."

They finished breakfast in silence.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?" Mrs. Schmidt asked.

"It's fine mom."

Albert's mom looked at him, her eyes beginning to water.

"Come here, mom."

Albert embraced his mom, who had been so strong for him all through his life.

"Love you, mom."

"I l-love you t-too, Al."

Next was Mia.

"I'm gonna miss you, Al!"

"Don't worry. I'll come back, and I'll play marbles with you."

"Yay!"

Sophie stepped up. She looked away from Albert, so he wouldn't see her moist eyes.

"Give me a hug?" Albert asked.

Sophie wordlessly hugged her big brother.

"Don't get hurt. I'll be mad at you if you do."

"I don't want you mad at me. That's scary."

Sophie giggled a little.

Last was Heinz.

"Look at me, Heinz," Albert began. "When I'm away, you'll have to take care of mom and your sisters, okay? Don't give mom and dad anything to worry about. Help them with the store if they need it. And be ready to protect them, with your life if you must."

"I will, Albert. I'll make you proud."

Heinz saluted. Albert saluted back as the two smiled at each other.

With that, Albert pulled on his boots, grabbed his bag, and walked out onto the brick pathway, past the tree growing outside his house, until he reached the sidewalk.

He turned around, taking one last look at his beloved home. Mrs. Schmidt, Albert, Sophia, and Mia waved. He waved back until they closed the door. He was about to set off when something caught his eye.

Albert looked up to a window, which belonged to his parent's room. The curtain shifted just a little, and he caught a glimpse of his father. He saw it for less than a microsecond, but he recognized his father. Then it was over, and the thick curtain fell back in place, as if no one had ever disturbed it, as still and silent as a grave.

Albert set off down the road, to an exciting, uncertain future.


	2. Chapter 2: Assignment

I know the story is slow. It'll go faster. And in this chapter, the first actual GuP characters appear, so bear with me.

I also know that there is another story out there with the title "Of Blood and Steel." I thought the name was familiar when I titled the story. I'll change it when I think of a better one.

-the author

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **Assignment**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Assignment**

"Hey, get off the street!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

Albert ran the rest of the way across the street after uttering a hasty apology to the angry truck driver, who continued spewing profanity long after Albert was out of his way.

After leaving his home southeast of Berlin, Albert decided to hail a cab in the village center. From the village to Berlin would take about six hours to walk, but a car commute could cut that two just over two.

The ride was reasonably pleasant. The driver was a jolly fellow, short and slightly round with a quick and easy laugh and a sunny personality. While he drove, he would twirl his small Austrian moustache and tell his passengers about his buddies from the Great War.

Albert was intrigued.

"I'm joining the Wehrmacht. Tank battalion."

"Ah, yes. Tanks!" the man chuckled. "Remember the first time I saw one of those things. Looked like a big metal slug with a great dirty big gun stuck onto it."

"What happened?"

"Well, one of my buddies saw it, and asked me what the hell it was. Obviously, I didn't have a damn clue what the Brits were up too. I just started shooting at it. We didn't make a dent. Then the landship shot back, the bastard. My friend got hit. His last words were 'Well, fuck.'"

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Ain't no loss. The guy was pretty stupid anyway. Didn't really expect him to live."

"Did it still hurt when he died?"

"Yeah. Yeah it did."

* * *

It had begun to rain by the time the taxicab arrived in Berlin. Albert dug through his small bag for some spare cash.

"How much do I pay you?"

"Ah, eight dollars twelve cents."

Albert dug through his bag and pulled out the necessary cash.

"Keep the change."

"Thanks."

"Sir, what's your name?"

"My name? Karl."

* * *

The two parted ways. After that, Albert got yelled at by the previously mentioned truck driver, and crossed the rainy street. He was a little lost. He had never been in Berlin before, despite living so close. It was totally new to him. Whilst the village was quiet and had a slow pace of life, the city of Berlin was fast. Peopled busted to and fro, all in one color. Drivers jockeyed for room on the roads and shouted angrily if they were cut off.

Albert saw many other young men and women wearing Wehrmacht uniforms walking around. Germany was one of the first to employ women in the fighting force, usually as supporting infantry, but frontline pilots and tank crews. The reason was to bolster Germany's numbers, to create the most massive and powerful army Europe had ever seen.

Albert followed where the recruits were coming from. He ended up going in several circles before finally finding the recruitment offices. Albert had already signed up along with his friends, but now he needed to be transported to the front. He had done training with his friends without needing to leave home, since the training grounds were actually located within a bike rides' distance from his home.

Albert entered through the great doors of glass, lined with oak and gold. The brilliant red Nazi flag with the bold swastika hung outside, clutched in the claws of a golden screaming eagle. Inside, there was a mass of people, most wearing the black Panzer uniform. Albert slipped through them, trying to get to the counter to ask for his assignment and possibly where his friends were assigned.

"Hey, Al!"

Albert turned around.

"Ben!"

"Hey man, how ya doin'?"

"Great!"

Albert gave his lifelong best friend a good embrace. Benjamin Lehmann was shorter than Albert, though not by much. Whereas Albert had black eyes and hair, Ben had soft brown eyes and a head of chocolate colored hair. Of the two, Benjamin was the lazier, the more playful.

"Come on, we don't want to keep everyone else waiting!" Ben grinned, giving Albert a pat on the back.

"Everyone else?" Albert raised an eyebrow.

Ben led Albert out onto the street, crossed it to the other side, and took Albert into a café named _Bernard's_.

It was nice inside, and warm. Berlin was comfortable in April, but still a bit on the chilly side. The rain wasn't helping matters much, cooling things farther.

Ben led Albert through the small round metal tables and came to a small booth with a good view of the street that the pair had just gotten off. The rain pattered against the windows lightly.

Seated at the booth were two boys and a girl. One of the boys Albert knew. His name was Ken Schwarz. He too had black hair and eyes. However, he was almost an entire head taller than Albert, and very lean. His skin was tanner than Albert's or Ben's. He had sharper features as well. However, hidden behind a face that would seem rather cold were an easygoing personality and a quick laugh.

"Albert, you know Ken." Ben said, gesturing to him.

"Hey, Ken, how've you been?" Albert smiled.

"Good."

"And Albert," Ben gestured at the remaining boy, "this is Milo Klein."

Milo was radically different from the rest of them. He stood lower, and always seemed to be attempting to make himself seem smaller. He had straw colored hair, and his eyes were a dull blue, like a crystal ball that had a coat of dust. He wore square rimmed steel glasses. His skin was very pale, like he never saw much sunlight.

"Hello, Milo." Albert nodded, shaking hands. He noticed that Milo's hand trembled a bit, and it was damp. His grip was poor and weak, as if one were holding a dead fish. In fact, Milo seemed exactly that: a limp fish.

"He's gonna be our radio operator." Ben said.

"What?"

"He's gonna be our radio operator." Ben repeated.

"What do you mean _our_?"

"Don't you know?" Ben asked. "We're assigned to the same tank!"

Albert blinked. That was unusual, to say at least.

"How?"

"My dad pulled some strings."

Ben, unlike Ken and Albert, came from a wealthy family. Mrs. Lehmann, Ben's mother, lived in the village to be away from the city's poorer air. However, Mr. Lehmann was a politician with quite a bit of influence in the Party, bringing the family a good amount of wealth.

"You're forgettin' someone!"

The girl had finally decided to speak.

"Ah, Albert," Ben said. "This is Mia Roth. She will be our loader."

"Pleased to meet," Albert said.

"Same 'ere!"

Mia was boisterous. She grinned easily. Her face was round, and she had short black hair and black eyes, which seemed to be pearls. Not tall either, but with a big heart and a straightforward personality.

Ben ushered Albert to sit down.

"So," Ben began, "down to business. We're all assigned to one tank. Ken's the gunner, no surprise there, and Albert, you're the commander, no surprise there either, which leaves me-"

"Driver!?" Albert blurted out.

"Yes."

"But you can't even drive a _car_ in a straight line."

"Aw, screw you!" Ben playfully socked Albert on the arm.

"Stop arguing like a gay couple," Mia frowned, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway," Ben continued, "We've been assigned to the 3rd Panzer Division under Horst Stumpff, and we are in Regiment 6, Company B, Platoon 14."

"Who's our platoon commander?" Ken asked.

"Maho Neumann."

"A girl?" Ken asked.

"I wouldn't underestimate her." Ben warned. "I heard from dad that her mother is one of the most powerful members of the Party. She's up there with Goebbels, Goering, and Himmler. Dad doesn't even wanna mess with her."

A waitress came by.

"Anything for any of you?"

"I'll take a coffee," Ben said.

"Cappuccino, please," Mia smiled.

Albert and Ken both declined. The former then changed his mind, deciding that he actually did have enough spare cash, and requested an espresso.

Milo remained soundless. The only movement he made was to push his glasses further up his nose.

A few minutes later, the waitress returned with their drinks. Albert downed his in one go, and stood up.

"I'm gonna run across the street and get some papers."

"Sure, suit yourself," Ben waved Albert off.

Albert pushed open the door, instantly getting a face full of rain, which had gotten stronger without him noticing. The downpour pretty much blinded him. He put right hand up to shield his eyes and began trudging across the street.

However, he was as blind as a bat. And, not having the excellent echolocation trait that a bat has, Albert ended up running headlong into somebody, knocking them over into a puddle of water on the ground and causing their umbrella to close when it hit the ground.

"Jesus Christ, sorry about that!"

Albert reached his hand out to help whomever he had just knocked over to stand up. He pulled the person up, noticing that it was a girl.

"Thanks."

She had mellow eyes, which were of a curious copper color. Her hair was the same, cropped short to just over her shoulders, and of the same, bronze-copper color. Like Albert, she wore a Wehrmacht Panzer uniform, only instead of combat trousers that Albert had, she wore a knee length red dress.

"I'm very sorry," Albert apologized again, "I didn't see you."

"It's no problem, really!" the girl said, trying to wring out her skirt. "I also should've been watching where I was going."

"Why don't you go inside, where the rain isn't everywhere?"

"Sure, sure." The girl replied.

Albert pushed open the great doors again, and held them open. When they entered, they stood to the side so as to not get into people's way.

"Here's your umbrella," Albert held the gadget out to the girl.

"Oh, thanks very much."

"Miho!"

Both Albert and the girl in question, Miho, looked up. Making her way through the crowd was another girl, taller than Miho, but with a similar appearance. Her hair was also cropped short, but it was a dark brown color, as were her eyes. Her eyes also had a more steel-like quality within them. She seemed colder than Miho.

"Maho!"

Albert stood to the side as the pair, almost certainly siblings, hugged each other. Both wore panzer uniforms. The older, Maho, then held Miho back from her by the shoulders.

"Miho? How'd you get so wet?"

"Uh… I fell outside. Tripped."

Maho raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. He actually helped me back up," Miho gestured at Albert, who still skulked around in the corner.

"Come over here…?" Maho stopped, evidently asking for a name.

"Albert Schmidt."

"Well, Mr. Schmidt, I thank you for picking my sister up. She's rather clumsy."

Albert didn't say anything.

"I'm Leutnant Maho Neumann. I actually believe I'm your platoon commander?"

"Uh, yes, ma'am." Albert said, fumbling a bit. Then, thinking a little, he snapped to a salute. Maho curtly nodded, and walked off with Miho, handing her younger sister a package of sorts and muttering for her to dry off in a bathroom.

Albert blew a breath of relief. Maho scared him a little. He then wondered why he was in the recruitment building again.

Oh right. Papers.

* * *

I know that all the "updates" being added to this story are subtle logic problems I uncover after reading through it, but bear with me. I'll try to get Chapter 3 and 4 up as quickly as possible. First battle will probably occur in Chapter 4. Chapter 3 is still beating around the bush, so to say.

Stick with me!

-the author.


	3. Chapter 3: Arrival

Here are the German names of some of the characters. Some characters whose names can pass won't be changed. I feel that if I change everyone's name, it won't have a Girls und Panzer feel anymore, you know what I'm saying?

Noriko Isobe-Nora Sommer

Ritaiko (Jagdpanther-chan)- Ritaika

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **Arrival**

 **Western bank of the Rhine River,**

 **Northwestern Germany**

 **March 6, 1940 15:30 hours**

"Attention!"

Albert snapped out of his musings. He had finally arrived at the "front." There wasn't a front yet, since they were about to receive orders about the upcoming operation. The train ride had been nice. The train car they were in was full of recruits just like themselves. Albert hadn't spoken to any of them. He and his crew just camped out in their compartment and played cards. Ken won every time.

"New panzer crewmen and women!" A sergeant was shouting, "You have arrived here today be of service to the Fatherland and the Fuhrer! I want iron discipline and efficiency! Build a comradeship with your fellow soldiers! To the glory of the Reich! Heil Hitler!"

The sergeant dismissed the cadets after a thundering reply of 'Heil Hitler!' and a cannonade of applause and cheers. Immediately, the cadets began filing into lines to be pointed to their new tanks and their platoons.

Albert made sure his crew stuck together in the chaos. There was a lot of shouting and asking for directions, but the group eventually made their way through the disorder. Following the directions given to them, they made their way down the row of tanks lined up in the large green field surrounded by a dark green forest. A dirt road lead out of the field.

"Company B, Platoon 14…" Albert muttered. "Here we are!"

Albert stopped. Nine tanks, painted in an olive green and brown camouflage, were lined menacingly in a neat row. Albert spotted Maho Neumann, whom he knew to be their platoon commander.

"Leutnant Neumann!" Albert stepped in front of her, saluting.

"At ease," she waved him down, a cool professionalism in her voice. "Are you looking for your tank?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Maho glanced down at the small clipboard she was holding.

"You're in tank two," she said. "That one."

Albert nodded.

"Affirmative."

Albert waved for his crew to come over. They assembled in front of the tank. It was large and boxy. The gun barrel was comically short compared to the size of the tank. Albert pulled himself up onto the turret.

"What type is it?" Ben asked.

"It's a Panzer IV ausf. C," Albert replied. "It's mostly used for infantry support."

"Aw," Ben groaned, "So we get to be the meat shield for the foot guys."

Albert had opened the commander's hatch. He jumped inside.

"It's pretty roomy, though," he observed. Below him, Ben was already seated in the driver's seat, gripping the controls and putting his feet on the pedals.

"Well?" Albert called. "Get in here, the rest of you!"

The crew settled into their positions. Albert was seated directly behind the gun breech. Ken was seated to the right of the breech, and Mia was on the left. To Mia's left were some shells. Ben and Milo were lower and forward. Albert could just see their backs in their chairs.

"Comfy up there?" Ben called.

"Quite," Ken replied. "You?"

"It's freaking hot in here. I can't breathe for Chrissakes."

Albert was observed the tank's interior. On both sides of the turret were racks for shells. More ammo racks were located on the floor. A fire extinguisher sat by Albert's foot. Behind Albert, also on racks, were two MP 38 SMG's, three Luger P08's, and two Walther P38's. There was also a belt of machine gun ammo in a box.

"These must be for your MG 34, Milo," Albert said, pulling the cartridge box out and handing it down to the radio operator.

"Thanks."

"Well," Albert said, sitting back a little. "Welcome to our home."

The tank commanders had assembled around a round wooden table in a small beige tent. Albert looked around.

To his immediate left was another boy. His uniform was sloppy, and the tie pulled loose. His yellow hair wasn't combed, and looked similar to a pile of hay spread out on the ground. He rocked back and forth, whistling a quick tune that Albert didn't know.

To his right were two girls, of similar height but not much else. The girl closer to Albert seemed quite lazy. It wasn't anything in her appearance, but it was way she stood. Something about her just seemed lazy. And bored. She continuously toyed with one of her reddish twin tails.

The female further from Albert constantly rocked back and forth on her feet. She seemed like she didn't wish to be there, but instead outside running around or perhaps playing a sport.

"Attention!"

Albert started.

The tent flap opened, and in walked Leutnant Neumann. The eight tank commanders already present snapped to attention at their commander's entrance.

"At ease."

Maho walked to the front.

"All right," she began. "We'll start with introductions. First, I am Leutnant Maho Neumann, and I'll be your direct superior and your platoon commander. We are a reasonably large platoon, so I hope everyone will cooperate to make things easier for all of us.

Now," Maho continued, "This is my sister, Oberfeldwebel Miho Neumann."

Miho waved, smiling a bit.

"Hi everyone! I look forward to working with all of you."

"Going on," Maho pointed at the girl standing to Miho's right. "Introduce yourselves."

"Oberfeldwebel Erwin Fuchs."

Curious hair, this girl had. It was yellow, but under her panzer cap, it pointed outwards, like two fox ears. Her jacket was unbuttoned. Curious name as well. Wasn't 'Erwin' a boy's name?

"Feldwebel Nora Sommer," spoke the girl Albert noticed earlier, the athletic looking one.

"Oberfeldwebel Anzu Kohler." The lazy-looking girl.

"Stabsfeldwebel Albert Schmidt," Albert stated clearly. A little loudly, since he was a little nervous.

"Feldwebel Eric Hahn." This was the boy with the sloppy appearance.

"Oberfeldwebel Ritaika Jaeger."

Albert noticed how she couldn't stop swaying. Her round face was slightly damp (and shiny?) from perspiration, matting her ash gray hair to her forehead.

The last girl pulled herself up to her full height. Her most notable feature was her snowy white hair. It was also very long, reaching to the middle of her back. Probably _not_ within military regulations…

"Stabsfeldwebel Erika Lang. I will be Leutnant Neumann's second in command."

"Alright, everyone," Maho said while producing some papers and flattening a map on top of the table, "we've been assigned to Army Group B's sixth army. We know there's an operation coming up, but we don't have any specific orders yet. They'll tell us when the time comes."

Everyone in the room held their breaths. A sense of anticipation filled the room.

"We'll be working with the 4th Panzer division very closely." Maho added.

After a moment of silence, as the tension began to defuse, then:

"Wasn't there going to be an invasion of France?" Anzu asked.

Instantly, the commanders began buzzing with excitement.

"Settle down! Settle down!" Erika shouted.

"It's fine, Erika," Maho waved Erika down. "No, we don't have any orders, so we don't know. Now I want everyone to load up tanks and get them in working order. Dismissed!"

"Jawohl!"

Maho began cleaning things up and packing them away.

"Maho?"

She looked up. Miho stood in the entrance of the tent.

"Yeah, Miho?"

"Could we talk later? Maybe when everyone else is asleep?"

"You know we can't be up too late. It won't be a good example for everyone else."

"I know, but could we please? Just like when we were kids?"

"Fine. Where?"

"By the river."

Outside, Albert was observing the rest of the platoon. On the left of his Panzer IV was another, probably Leutnant Neumann's. To his tank's right were the two StuG IIIB's and the one Panzer III. Erwin and Ritaika were sitting on their StuG IIIB's. Then came another Panzer IV, which Albert recognized as Miho Neumann's. Lastly farthest away from Albert's tank, sat two Panzer II's commanded by Nora and Eric.

Albert returned to his tank.

"Hey, what about her?" Ken was asking Ben.

Albert frowned. _What the hell were they doing?_

"Ehh… not sure. Little flat, dontcha think?"

" _What_ are you two doing?"

Ken and Ben, engrossed by whatever they were discussing hadn't noticed Albert's approach, and jumped around to face him.

"Jesus, it's just you. We thought it was Leutnant Neumann. Or Stabsfeldwebel Lang. She's terrifying." Ben sighed.

"You didn't answer my question, inferior officer!" Albert grinned.

"Oh noes, I'm gonna be court-martialed! Ah, the shame!"

"Seriously though, what were you two doing?"

"Come here," Ben motioned to Albert. Albert pulled himself up to sit on the glacis plate of the tank, in front of the driver's viewport. "We're checking out the girls."

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

"No, I'm not kidding you." Ben said, almost insulted. "I mean, look at her." He pointed at a girl with copper hair sitting in the radio operator's hatch of what seemed to be Miho Neumann's tank. "Goddamn those are some _fine-_ "

"Okay, let me stop you right there," Albert planted his face in his hands. "You can _not_ check _out_ your comrades! That is _weird!_ "

"What's so ' _weird'_ about it?" Ben shrugged.

"Because… because…"

"Alright, let's get you paired up," Ben grinned, waving off Albert's feeble protests and putting his arm on Albert's shoulder, pulling him closer.

"Now, Ken thinks that she," Ben pointed at a different girl, this one sitting atop one of the Panzer II's, whom Albert recognized as Anzu Kohler, "is pretty fine, but _I_ think that she's… lacking in the, how shall I say it, fuel tank department."

"What the absolute _fuck_ are you saying," Albert deadpanned hard.

"I'm just saying, you gotta _find_ somebody good looking. And I, with my excellent expertise, can assist you."

"No, I really _don't_ need that, thank you very much."

"Just _watch_."

With that, he hopped out of his hatch and began marching over to one of the other panzers.

"Well shit," Albert groaned.

"Ms. Miho, is everything good?"

Miho smiled at the girl who had just spoken to her.

"I'm fine, Hana."

"Okay, then." Hana turned back to the gun sight, putting her eye against the view piece after brushing a strand of her long black hair out of the way. "It's kinda cool, this sight."

Miho hoisted herself on top of the turret. It was a comfortable late afternoon. The sun was beginning to go a little low in the sky. She enjoyed the quiet around her. Of course, it wasn't much quiet anywhere else, with crew members adjusting to their tanks and shouting commands at each other.

The brief moment of silence was brutally interrupted.

"Mako! Wake up!"

"Rrgh…"

Miho peered over the front of the turret. Her radio operator and friend, Sarah Takemann was shaking their sleepy driver, Mako Rabe, who had her arms folded in front of her as a cushion for her head.

"Mako!" Sarah puffed. "You know you can't sleep in the middle of a fight."

"Mmhmm."

Mako lifted her head up. Her long hair was jet black, and due to the way she was sleeping, it fell in front of her face, obscuring it. Combined with her pale skin, it made for quite a creepy image.

"Saori, it's alright, just let her sleep," Miho intervened, chuckling a little. "Saori" was a little nickname that Sarah had come up for herself. She wanted to go somewhere foreign and exotic, and she believed the name "Sarah" was too boring.

As Mako laid her head back down, Miho noticed somebody approaching their tank. It was a short(ish) boy with dark brown hair and a wide grin.

"Hello!" he greeted.

"Hello," Miho waved back. "who are you?"

"Oh, me?" the boy shrugged his shoulders. "I'm Unteroffizier Benjamin Lehmann, pleased to meet you. You are…?"

"Oh, I'm Miho Neumann," Miho replied. "and these are my friends, Mako Rabe, and Sarah Takemann."

"Call me Saori," Saori smiled at Ben, extending her hand for a handshake.

"Hello, Saori," Ben smiled. "So, where're you from?"

"Oh, me? I'm from Berlin!"

"Really? My father works in Berlin!"

"Cool. It's a really nice city, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Anyway-"

Miho didn't bother listening to the rest of the conversation. She could probably guess what Ben was doing here, but it didn't matter to her. In fact, Miho herself would love it if Saori finally found a boyfriend. She'd been obsessed with the idea of meeting someone after the war was over. The war hadn't really even started yet!

"What the hell is he doing?"

"He's flirting, dumbass. Something you should learn to do."

"Ah, sod off."

Albert was helping Mia and Ken load some shells into the tank. They could hear Milo tampering with the radio from inside the tank.

"Really, though, Al. When was the last time you went out on a date?" Ken asked Albert as the latter handed him another 7.5 cm AP shell.

"Don't remember," Albert muttered, handing Ken another shell, this time an HE shell.

"Exactly."

"An sod off."

"Someone's a little pissed."

"Alright, you can load the rest of them yourself," Albert walked away.

"What? Come back here!" Ken protested. "What kind of shitty commander are you, ditching all your friends?"

Albert casually flipped him off.

"Pfft… well same to you!"

Friendly banter similar to this often happened between them. Albert signed, grinning to himself and looking up at the sky, The setting sun splashed oranges, yellows, reds, and purples all over the sky in a stunning mosaic of color.

Not watching where he was going, he stumbled headlong into someone. Both he and whom he had stumbled into fell over. His father, when Albert was still a kid, kept telling him to stop being so clumsy. While he had gotten better at this throughout the years, it still shadowed him.

"Ah, sorry!"

Albert hastily stood back up. He saw that he had accidently run into Erwin Fuchs, the commander of the StuG III B parked next to his tank.

"No… problem," Erwin replied, grabbing his outstretched hand and pulling herself up.

An awkward silence ensued, where neither really knew what to say. Albert began to rock back and forth on his feet, until he remembered how he'd found it a little annoying with Ritaika and Anzu had continuously done it. He stopped.

"So, uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that."

"No worries." Erwin replied. "So, you are Stabsfeldwebel Schmidt, correct?"

"Yes, and you are…?"

 _Why would you do that? You know her name!_ Albert berated himself.

"I'm Erwin. Erwin Fuchs."

"Isn't that a boy's name?"

 _What… the fuck… was that? Dumbass! You don't ask shit like that!_

Erwin didn't seem too offended though. "I get that a lot. You see, it's quite a funny story. My parents aren't the wealthiest of people. So when they had me, they took the stuff from my grandparents. His name was Erwin, and everything had Erwin written on it. And for some reason, they decided that it would be a _great_ idea to name their baby girl Erwin."

"Huh. Did you ever get teased?"

"Ah, sometimes, a little. It's no big deal though."

That topic had come to an end. Albert had started to sweat, trying to think up another one.

"Why'd you join the army?" Erwin asked him, before Albert could think up a topic. It seemed that Erwin was much more social than Albert, it was just the their initial sudden meeting that surprised her.

"Well, I wanted to join my friends," Albert began. "But, I also didn't want to just grow up and become a pharmacist like my dad."

"You're dad's a pharmacist?"

"Yeah. Before that he fought in the first war."

"Well, wouldn't it be possible that you end up like him?" Erwin questioned.

"No, because we lost the first war. We won't lose this one." If there was anything Albert was sure of, it was this. Germany was too powerful now.

"What about you? Why'd you join the Wehrmacht?"

"I just wanted to," Erwin shrugged. "I wanted to do something exciting."

"Your parents approved?"

"Full support," Erwin smiled. "My parents really are a little spoiling sometimes. They give me my full support on almost everything."

"Lucky you, my dad hated the idea of me joining."

"Did he, now?"

"Yeah."

Another few moments of silence. Something within Albert's subconscious decided to take a shot at something that Albert, rationally, would never have done.

"You know, I like your hair."

"Really?" Erwin seemed mildly surprised. "It kinda annoys me sometimes. It's not supposed to do this, it just does."

"I think it's endearing." On the outside, Albert smiled. On the inside, he was berating the hell out of himself for talking like that.

Erwin smiled back a little. Albert noticed her cheeks had turned a slight shade rosy.

"Commander!"

One of the StuG's crew members had poked her head out of a hatch.

"We need you! Could you come here for a sec?"

"Sure thing!" Erwin turned to Albert. "It was nice talking to you. Hope we can talk again sometime soon."

"Yeah. Same."

Erwin clambered back to her tank, picking up the screwdriver she had been retrieving when Albert had run into her.

"Whoo!" Ken grinned from the Panzer IV, evidently having watched the whole thing. "My man has got himself a girl!"

"Sod off. And finish loading those shells."

* * *

Once again, another chapter done and still pretty slow. Stick with me, the first battle is coming in the next chapter or two. I don't know when the next chapter or two will come out though. A review is appreciated.

-the author

Note 2:

Thanks for the two guys who dropped a review. I just have a quick thing to mention.

Once again, thanks for the review. I know the Reichmark was the currency of Nazi Germany, but I don't know the rough conversion, so I'm going to stick to dollars for everybody's currency for the rest of the story, (possibly sans the franc and pound), for sake of simplicity.

As for the names, well... I don't speak German, so bear with me. Please?

-the author


	4. Chapter 4: Baptism by Fire

Why the long wait? First off, this chapter is longer than the others. Second... life happens.

-the author

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **Baptism by Fire**

Many years ago

 _"_ _Miho?"_

 _No reply._

 _"_ _Miho!"_

 _Still nothing._

 _"_ _Miho!"_

 _"_ _Boo!"_

 _"_ _Gah!"_

 _The younger sister jumped out of a nearby bush, startling the older._

 _"_ _Miho! Don't do that. And why are you out here so late? You should be in bed."_

 _The luminous full moon shone overhead, casting a soft, pale, silver light over the landscape._

 _"_ _Mother'll be mad, Miho."_

 _"_ _Can you please stay out here? Just a little bit?"_

 _"_ _Fine. Five minutes."_

 _"_ _Yay!"_

 _Maho sat down on the soft, cool grass. The summer breeze rustled their pajamas and caused the grass to tickle their bare feet. Miho sat down in her sister's lap._

 _"_ _The moon's very pretty, isn't it, Maho?"_

 _"_ _Yes it is."_

 _"_ _I love you Maho."_

 _"_ _I love you too."_

 _"_ _I wish we could stay here forever."_

 _"_ _I do too."_

* * *

 **Oreye, Belgium, 11km Northeast of Hannut**

 **May 12, 1940, 15:00 hours**

 **"Leutnant Maho!"**

Two nights ago, Albert had been roused from his sleep before daylight had even struck. Ben was shaking him and telling him to wake up and that they were moving out.

"What?" Albert had asked.

"We've got an operation, now." Ben whispered.

Albert had stumbled out of the makeshift bunk in which he had been sleeping. It was like the morning he had left his home. The sky was still mostly black, but a pale gray light shined from the east. It was still quiet, but a whispering, underlying buzz had already started. After getting their uniforms on, Ben and Albert had passed by the girl's bunks, where Albert could make out Saori and Miho struggling to get Mako to wake up.

Once they had gotten into their tanks and started the ignitions, Maho called the commanders into a circle and explained the orders. The code word "Danzig" had been issued, beginning the invasion of France and the Low Countries. Their orders were to draw the main British and French forces into Belgium, so that Army Group A could break through the Ardennes and cut the enemy off with a sickle stroke maneuver.

For the next two days, Albert and his platoon didn't see any frontline action, being new, they weren't part of the initial attacks at Rotterdam and the Albert Canal. However, now they were needed at Hannut.

"Here's the report from High Command, Leutnant," Albert stated, handing Maho some papers and saluting.

"Thank you, Stabsfeldwebel," Maho nodded. "Dismissed."

Albert nodded and left.

"Kid seems enthusiastic," Erika noticed.

"He does, doesn't he?" Maho replied.

"He seems a little naïve."

"Aren't we all, Erika. Aren't we all."

Erika was smoking a cigarette while seated in a chair.

"What're our orders, Commandant?"

Maho glanced at the papers, skimming through them and reading aloud.

"It looks like this morning, the 4th Panzer Division made an attack on the town of Hannut. They managed to push the initial French resistance back into the town. When they launched the second attack later in the morning, the French yielded without a fight, and began retreating. The 4th attempted to cut them off with a flanking maneuver through Crehen, but a large French force stopped them there. They placed Crehen under siege, but the French broke out to the north. Our job is to protect their Northern flank. The main French forces are now holding the town of Merdorp."

"Great. What are our specific orders?" Erika asked.

"We don't know. We're waiting for the Luftwaffe to conduct a recon run."

"So, we wait?"

"We wait."

* * *

Albert returned to his crew. Ben had the hatch propped open and had his head sticking out, wiping his brow. Ken and Mia had opened their side hatches as well, and were trying to catch some breeze after being cooped up in the metal stove for a few hours. Only Milo couldn't be seen. His hatch was open though, so Albert assumed that he was reading, since he'd been doing that the whole time. This is mostly because a tank doesn't really have a dedicated radio operator. Milo's main job was to mount the bow MG, and there wasn't anything to shoot.

"It's freaking hot," Ben complained.

"And those three words are all you've said all day today, besides 'good morning' and 'fuck off.'" Albert retorted.

"Fuck off."

Albert clambered back into his position as Ben continued to skulk. Their tank column had been travelling with Eric's Panzer II leading, followed closely by Maho and Erika in their Panzer IV and Panzer III respectively. Albert's tank came next in line, followed by the two StuG IIIB's. Miho's Panzer IV along with Nora's and Anzu's Panzer II's bringing up the rear.

"The artillery sure was loud!" Mia remarked.

It was true. The cannons were like thunder. Even as they approached the town, they could hear the massive blasts of the heavy guns blasting away at enemy fortifications.

"Do you know what are orders are?"

"No, Ken, I don't," Albert replied. "Leutnant Neumann is going over them now."

The German artillery cannons continued their bombardment of the French positions, firing once every few minutes. It was already pretty obnoxious. Albert couldn't imagine what the sound would be like when the main bombardment began.

He continued looking around. The tank column had halted beside the village center, with the first two tanks inside the center and everyone else crowding a street. The shops and houses on either side of the streets were quite nice. The brick was mostly a light yellow, and the roofs were tiled with reddish brown clay, or the occasional thatched hut. The streets were also gave the town an old, cozy feel, being of cobblestone.

"Airplanes!"

Albert raised his head and glanced towards the sky. Sure enough, four planes, sleek and painted gray with yellow noses were streaking towards them.

Miho was also looking at the planes. Their polished fuselages reflected the sun's light, and she could make out the black cross painted onto the sides.

"Those are Me 109's!"

Miho's loader, Yukari Allmann was a military enthusiast. She knew the specifications of practically all tanks in current use. She also possessed a little notebook with sketches of all the tanks she knew about and some facts about each. Of course, that didn't mean her knowledge was exclusively tanks.

"They actually have a little song about it," Yukari noted.

With that, she began humming a quick, nippy tune.

 _In den Lüften fliegt dahin,_

 _hoch im Sonnenschein…_

* * *

Back inside the little tent that Erika and Maho had been occupying just outside the town, Maho was flipping through her collection of pictures. They were all very small, no larger than a playing card each. She stored them in a little box.

The pictures themselves weren't of very high quality, very grainy. She smiled when she saw one that had been taken last Christmas. Miho had received her Wehrmacht uniform the day before, and the sisters were standing in front of the Christmas tree. Maho herself looked quite serious, but Miho had a wide, almost goofy smile on her face.

"Commandant!"

Maho put the pictures back into the box and stowed it into her breast pocket.

"Yes, Erika?"

"We've got a recon report in from the Luftwaffe," Erika began. "It says that the French have heavy tank units in the Orp area and motorized units in the Gembloux area. Our orders are to push through the French strongholds at Orp and Thisnes if possible, and make for Perwez if possible. The 4th Panzer will defend its southern flank from Hannut. If we encounter too much resistance, we are to fall back to Hannut."

"Alright, Erika," Maho said while grabbing her cap. "Get the platoon ready. It's time to go."

* * *

The tank platoon was buzzing with excitement. They had started forwards again after hearing their orders, and were now advancing towards the village of Thisnes.

Albert was a little worried now, since he couldn't really _see_ anything. Sunlight was pretty much gone, except for a feeble sliver of reddish orange on the far horizon.

"All right, platoon," Maho's voice came over the radio, "Our artillery barrage'll start any minute now. That'll be our cue to attack."

"Roger," came the reply from one of the other tanks.

Albert was surveilling the landscape leading up to the town, which he could see in the distance ahead. Infantry marched on either side of the tank column, crouching to avoid possible fire.

Then the barrage began.

"Alright," Maho spoke over the radio. "The attack has started! Do well for your first fight, and make the Fatherland proud!"

The panzers increased their speed and began to move forwards. Their platoon, #14 along with Platoon #6, was at the head of the attack, in two columns. Overall command of the two platoons would be jointly coordinated through Maho and the other platoon's commander.

"Go, Ben!"

The Panzer IV lurched forwards, gathering speed at a steady pace. Albert was almost giddy with adrenaline. His first battle was about to begin!

However, as a couple minutes passed, the adrenaline began to wear away. He sat back down in his tank.

"How far are we from the town?" he growled.

"Not far," Ben replied nonchalantly, whistling a tune as the Panzer trundled forward.

"Good," Albert stretched a little. "I'm about ready to-"

Suddenly, Erika's Panzer III in front of him ground to an abrupt halt. Ben, panicking, hit the brakes and swerved left to avoid running into Erika's tank. Albert fell out of his seat and onto the floor, hitting his arm.

"Ow!" Albert barked out. "What the hell was that?"

"They stopped!" Ben protested.

"Oy, what was that!"

Albert propped the commander's hatch open to speak with the infantry commander who had shouted at him.

"The tank in front of us stopped suddenly!"

Another transmission came over the radio. It was the lead tank of Platoon 6.

"This is tank 5 of platoon 6 at the head of the formation, we've got a problem!"

"What is it, Feldwebel Muller?" Maho radioed.

"Roadblocks! They have the roads on the roads leading in and they've barricaded-shit!"

The radio went dead as Albert saw an explosion up ahead.

"God."

* * *

The gunfight began quickly. Soon after the lead Panzer I had been destroyed, Albert popped back into his tank, pulling the hatch closed just as French artillery began to rain bombs down on the German tank column.

"Get off the road!" Maho ordered to her platoon. "Follow me!"

Maho's Panzer IV pulled off the road.

"Ms. Altenbeck, I want an HE round loaded in the cannon." Maho ordered.

"Jawohl!" Koume answered, quickly stuffing the shell into the breach and closing it. "Ready!"

"Groffitzer, spin the turret 20 degrees to the right and target that French gun! Range is about 200 meters!"

The gunner turned the turret and lined it up with the intended target.

"Fire!"

The 75mm gun launched its high explosive shell at the offending weapon. It impacted and exploded in a spectacular fireball of orange and red.

"Platoons four, two and eight are to make a flanking maneuver," the regiment commander's voice came over the intercom, "while platoons fourteen, twelve, six, and three are to begin a frontal assault on the town! Destroy any French armor that you come across!"

The tanks trundled forwards again, coming out of their single file line, but filing instead into three columns. As they began to head into the open, they began spreading out even more.

Albert was focused ahead.

"Mia, get a shot loaded into the gun."

"HE or AP?"

"Uh… HE."

"Ready!"

By now, night had completely fallen, and Albert couldn't see anything. He scanned the area with his binoculars while crouching low over the commander's cupola. They were approaching the edge of the town when a movement caught his eye.

"Leutnant Maho!" he shouted into the radio. "There's an anti-tank gun at our two o'clock!"

"Well, get rid of it, Stabsfeldwebel!"

"Ken! Turret to the right, two o'clock! Do you see that bush by the buildings?"

"No, what am I looking for?"

Albert checked his binoculars again. There it was, the 37mm anti-tank cannon was turning to target somebody.

"Two o'clock! The bush between the two buildings!"

"Where, goddamit?"

"There, between- Ben, stop!"

One shell screamed in from their right, skipping off the front of their tank and leaving Ben and Milo extremely dazed. The gun Albert had seen first also fired, but it's shot missed and impacted the ground before them.

"Got it!" Ken depressed the firing pedal.

 _BOOM!_

The 75mm howitzer kicked back ferociously. The noise was deafening. Albert saw the flash of the shot as it left the barrel and screamed towards the target. A second explosion sent shrapnel flying everywhere as the anti-tank gun exploded.

"Awesome!" Albert punched the air and gave Ken a pat on the back. "Nice shooting!"

Ken was grinning.

"Just see it first next time."

"Ah, shut up."

The tank continued forwards. French artillery was pouring down now, creating a shower of explosive shrapnel. Albert was forced to close the commander's hatch.

"We've got artillery coming in from our right flank," Albert warned Maho.

"It's not a problem, platoon 2 on our right flank will get rid of them."

"Are you sure, commander? There's a lot of fire raining down."

"It's not our problem, Stabsfeldwebel. We need to get into the town."

"Affirmative, Leutnant, sorry!"

Inside Miho's tank, the crew was sweating. A near miss had showered their tank with shrapnel. Luckily for the nearby soldiers, the tank had shielded them, even as the crew members inside instinctively covered their heads.

Suddenly, a loud, continuous "PTAAA" noise sounded, followed moments later by machine gun bullets ricocheting off the tank's armor or hitting the soldier's nearby.

Miho heard one of the soldiers nearby get cut down by the stream of bullets. She grimaced, covering her ears as the man- or boy- cried out in pain and fell lifeless to the ground. She thanked God she didn't see it. She wasn't sure if she could bear it.

"Saori!" Miho called out after a few moments. "Lay down MG fire at the leftmost window on the third floor of the building at our one o'clock!"

"Which one?"

"One o'clock!" Miho shouted into her radio, since her voice was being drowned out by the din of battle. "The building with the big tree beside it!"

"Oh, that one!" Saori pulled the trigger on the MG, holding it down. Her arms were shaking violently, despite the machine gun being mounted, it was her first time firing such a heavy weapon.

A shot from another tank struck the building that Saori was suppressing, finally silencing the pesky MG.

Erwin's tank destroyer was rumbling forwards with Anzu's and Erik's Panzer II's covering her flanks, further left of Miho's tank.

"Ms. Kohler, Mr. Hahn, could you lay down suppressing fire against the infantry?" Erwin requested.

"No, problem!" Anzu stated. "Alright, Momo, you know what to do!"

"Don't call me that!"

Erwin rolled her eyes at the slightly annoying banter.

"Just keep the infantry off us!" Erwin shouted.

Both light tanks began firing their autocannons at the gun positions. While the shots from Erik's panzer were accurate and effective in keeping the gun crews pinned down, the shots from Anzu's tank went all over the place, going nowhere near the intended targets. The anti-tank cannons were placed at several wide intervals. The StuG, not having a turret, could only face one at a time.

"Caesar, let's get another HE shot into the gun!"

"Affirmativa commandante!" replied her Italian friend. Brushing a strand of her short brown hair out of her eyes, the loader rammed a heavy shell into the breech of the gun. "Ready!"

"Sae, take the one in front of us out!"

"Got it!"

The howitzer fired. It missed, instead hitting the building next to the howitzer, but causing said building to collapse, silencing the gun.

"Alright Oryou," Erwin ordered after recovering from the gun's loud blast, "step on it!"

Erwin's crew was made entirely up of history nerds. Both the childhood friends of Selina and Melina were obsessed completely with Japanese history, adopting their nicknames of Sae(monza) and Oryou respectively. Alessia had been an Italian immigrant, growing up in Germany outside Bremen, Erwin's hometown. She adopted the nickname Caesar during their adventurous romps outside the city in the forests. Both enlisted in the Wehrmacht together.

"We've taken out most of the guns!" Albert shouted into his radio.

"Alright, everyone," Erika's voice came over the radio. "Get into that town!"

The tanks and infantry began a mad dash for the town. However, as the first tanks were reaching the outskirts of the buildings, a massive barrage of artillery rained down from their right flank, as the remaining survivors in Thisnes began to fire with small arms and larger guns.

"Dammit!" the regiment commander's voice came in. "Get into the first buildings and make a perimeter. Riflemen and tanks, regroup quickly!"

"You heard him!" Maho radioed in.

Albert's Panzer IV drove into the a street behind Erika's Panzer III and Maho's Panzer IV. He shoved the commander's hatch open and tentatively poked his head out. When he was sure it was safe, he stretched a bit. Behind his tank was Erwin's StuG and two Panzer II's. The rear was followed up by Romy's StuG, Nora's Panzer II, and lastly, Miho's Panzer IV.

"All commanders, report in!" Maho ordered

After this was done, Maho allowed the platoon a few minutes rest as the remainder of the tanks finished setting up the perimeter.

"We'll guard here. There's no one else to our right except a few Mk. I's and some infantry." Maho told her platoon.

Albert observed the area. They were in a narrow street flanked by tall houses on both sides. He knew that to their right, there were two more streets also flanked by houses running parallel to them, shielding them from direct fire. His tank was parked just behind an intersection that made a three way passage. Maho's tank was on the other side. The road that met theirs lead straight out into the open, where the French were waiting. Their road went on a little bit before it turned left and out of sight behind more houses. An eerie moonlight was cast into the gap of the buildings just behind Maho's panzer.

"Hey, you notice that?" Mia asked.

"What?" Ben groaned, trying to get comfortable in his driver's seat while stretching his hands, which were cramped from gripping the controls so tightly during the fight. "I don't hear anything."

"Yeah. They stopped the shelling," Mia replied.

"Good." Albert huffed. "Don't want shells raining down on my head."

For another few minutes, things remained quiet. A little too quiet. Albert picked up his radio.

"Leutnant Neumann?" Albert asked. "It's been awfully quiet the past few minutes, do you think the enemy is up to something?"

"That's just what I was thinking. Schmidt, get out of your tank and take a look."

"Affirmative, commander."

"And be careful."

Albert grabbed an MP 38 and inserted the clip, flicking the safety off and selecting "full auto."

"I'ma go take a look, okay?"

"Don't get shot!" Ben jeered.

"Sod off."

Albert hopped onto the cobblestone street, but just as he did, he heard something. It was a metallic clanking, growing louder by the second. He heard men shouting in the adjacent street.

"I hear French tanks!" Albert shouted into his on-person radio.

"Goddamit, get up and move!" Erika ordered,

"Get behind our tanks," Eric warned. "They're coming!"

Shouts rang out in the adjacent street, as well as cannon fire in the form of the Panzer I's 20mm cannon. It was abruptly silenced by a louder, more thunderous shot, followed by panicked German voices retreating.

Albert attempted to climb back up into his tank, but halfway through he realized that it was too late for that. His hands were sweaty and he shook. The MP 38 he dropped on the ground. He tried to grab a handle on the side of the turret, but his slippery hands wouldn't let him. He lost his grip and footing, and fell back onto the ground.

By now, he could see the shadows of the French soldiers and tanks moving up. Quickly, he grabbed up the fallen submachine gun and pointed it at the corner. He saw that Maho and her turret crew were trying to get their own arms ready.

Albert held his breath.

A face appeared around the corner. Albert was about to pull the trigger when his finger simply balked.

The face was of a girl. Matted yellow hair cut short stuck to her forehead. Her face was covered with grime. Her turquoise eyes were wide with fear at the German steel monsters looming before her. Her helmet was much too large, and the rifle she carried was gripped tightly in her arms, held close to her small frame.

She was most likely just a conscript.

"Que vois-tu?" a male voice came behind her.

"Un-un s-soldat et des chars allem-mands!"

"Attaque!"

Albert didn't need to know much French to know what that meant. Panicking, he pressed down on the trigger of the MP 38. The recoil however, threw him back. Staggering, he tripped on the uneven cobblestone and fell.

All hell broke loose.

Albert looked up, and was unable to see the girl. In her place was a massive French tank. The tank was almost comically shaped, with a large loaf-shaped hull and a disproportionately small turret. The 47mm gun of the B1 spat fire, and Albert covered his head with his arms.

The French tank crew, however, seemed totally inexperienced. Their shot was poorly aimed, and only impacted the side of the turret of Albert's Panzer IV at a sharp angle. It ricocheted off into a nearby house, exploding and showering Albert with debris.

Albert leapt back up. Grabbing his gun, he jumped through rubble to try and get behind his tank. Mia had loaded a shot, and Ken had fired. The shot however, seemed to only be absorbed by the French tank's armor.

On the other side however, Erika's Panzer III, armed with a high velocity 37mm cannon, fired around Maho's Panzer IV, striking the offending French heavy tank. It's track was destroyed, immobilizing it.

Here, the French crew's total lack of combat experience showed even more. Instead of finishing off Albert's Panzer, they began to swing their turret around. Ken meanwhile, fired another shot at the French heavy, this time a HE shell. It detonated on the side of the French heavy, and seemed to injure a crew member with the concussion, as the turret temporarily halted.

Meanwhile, Albert tried to climb back into the turret of his tank via the roof of the engine compartment. With his MP in his hand, Albert hoisted himself onto the scorching metal. Mia was attempting to help him.

"Come on, jump!" she shouted at him, before ducking to avoid being hit by gunfire. "And stay prone!"

"Gah!"

Quickly he jumped into a standing position. Big mistake. Several French soldiers were peeking and firing around the corner. He attempted to raise his own weapon to retaliate, but it was too late. Albert felt a something graze his side, slicing past. Microseconds later, he felt as if someone had chucked two pebbles into his arm. Reeling backwards, Albert lost his footing and impacted the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him.

"Albert!" Mia shouted.

For a few seconds, Albert wasn't able to reply as he tried to get his breath.

"'m fine!" he gasped. "Shit!"

Another burst of fire rattled off the cobblestone near Albert.

"Why the hell aren't you shooting the bastards?!" Erika's voice thundered over the radio.

"Milo!" Mia kicked at the meek assistant driver. "Use your machine gun!"

"I-I can't point it at them!"

"Goddamit! Ben, back up then!"

Albert's left arm was now beginning to sting and burn. He stood back up, using his tank as cover, and, after a few tries, heaved himself back onto the engine deck of the tank. Gritting his teeth against the heat, Albert shouted to his crew,

"Fire a shot at the corner! HE!"

The shot impacted, blowing up debris and smoke, providing a temporary screen. Albert used this opportunity to drag himself in through the commander's hatch, and land with a thud into his seat.

"Albert! Your arm!" Mia shouted.

"It's fine," Albert hissed. "Just get everyone out of here!"

An explosion sounded ahead.

"Commander Neumann!" Erwin radioed.

Silence over the intercom.

"They must've been knocked out!" Anzu shouted.

Another explosion.

"That must've been Ms. Lang's tank!"

"Alright, Ms. Anzu, you can shut up now!" Erwin growled.

"Back up!" Albert ordered. "We need to get out of here! Milo, lay down cover fire with your machine gun!"

Bullets rattled off the armor of Albert's tank, almost like a million clanging bells. Milo's gun returned fire, but fell silent very soon.

"Milo!" Albert shouted, "Keep shooting! Ben, start reversing! Someone, tell Ms. Neumann to start backing up!"

"I can't get through to them!" Milo reported.

"Someone!" Albert bellowed. "Wave to Ms. Neumann that we need to back up!"

The German tanks began to move again. Miho's tank reversed back around the corner and into the open.

"Move us faster, Mako!" Miho hollered over the gunfire. She was definitely worried, not knowing what was happening. In the fighting, a shell had landed dented their front armor, knocking out their main radio as well as her headphones. As they continued to back up, Miho swept the area with her viewports, making sure that there weren't any threats. She caught glimpse of a movement, something, to her tank's right.

"Mako, stop!"

The Panzer ground to a screeching halt. A shot whizzed just past them.

"Get the turret turned 90 degrees to the right!" she ordered. "Yukari! AP, on the double!"

Yukari grunted as she hoisted the shell into the gun, closing the breech. "Ready!"

"Fire!"

Hana stepped on the firing pedal, and the gun kicked back. Miho, watched in horror as the shot harmlessly was deflected off the French tank's turret.

"Keep moving, Saori!"

Panicked by the urgency in Miho's voice, Saori rocketed the tank backwards, almost throwing Miho off balance and saving their lives. The French tank's return fire missed.

The German tanks began their hasty and disorganized retreat. In the explosions, shouts, and gunfire, Albert had no idea what was going on. His only priority was to keep the platoon together, as de facto commander. Albert ordered for everyone to retreat to the Hannut area.

Seconds after he gave the order, Albert spotted two French Somuas.

"Ken, two Somuas to our left, 20 degrees! Mia, load AP!"

Mia smoothly loaded the round and Ken fired. The shot ricocheted off the frontal armor.

"Mia, get another AP round, on the double! Ken, aim at the side of the enemy, dead center!"

"You think I don't know that?" Ken growled.

Taking careful aim, the dark haired gunner fired another round. This one impacted the side of the French beast, drilling through the thinner side armor, which gave way. Flames began to lick out of the engine compartment as the diver threw open her hatch to climb out. She wasn't able to before a massive explosion engulfed both her and her comrades in flames, cooking them alive.

Albert didn't see the gruesome scene, as he had turned away to shield his eyes from the brightness of the eruption.

"Great job!" Mia cheered. "That was our first kill!"

"No time to celebrate now!" Albert warned. As if to drive the point home, the second Somua fired a shell at them before being taken under fire by Eric's and Nora's Panzer II's. It was forced to retreat, back into the cover of the dark night.

The platoon reached Hannut intact, save for Miho's Panzer IV, which had lost its communications and had arrived later than everyone else. Ritaika's StuG had also taken damage, with her track being heavily damaged by a hand grenade.

It didn't take long before Miho realized that Maho wasn't around.

"Where's Maho?" she asked Albert.

"Umm…" Albert stalled.

"Albert?" she pleaded. "Where is she? What happened?"

"We were in an intersection," Albert said. "She and Ms. Lang were cut off from us."

"Were they knocked out?"

"I'm pretty sure they were."

Miho sank to her knees.

"Hey, I'm sure they'll be fine," Albert tried to assure the panicked younger sister. "Both the Leutnant and Ms. Lang are very smart."

Miho didn't say anything, just looked down at the ground.

"And besides," Albert said, with a little more confidence, "she loves you. If anything, she'd beat the devil out of this world to get back to you."

Albert left Miho in the company of her friends before returning to his tank, which was now empty, the rest of the crewmembers having gone to get something to eat. He wasn't hungry, suddenly realizing just how exhausted he was. Using his cap as a makeshift pillow, Albert promptly dosed off.


End file.
